Comment : Digging Into Intel's Latest CPU Price Cuts

Intel price cuts, whilst impressive, do not mean much especially if you are planning to build a system rather than upgrade an existing computer system.

The semiconductor company has not cut the price of its higher priced, more expensive Core i7 processors, a clear hint that it is not considering the new AMD Phenom processors as being a serious threat.

No price cuts have been applied to Core 2 Duo processors except the E7400 whose price cuts EOLs the E7300 and E7200 CPUs. Similarly, the drop in price for the E5200 means that the E2220, E2200 and E2180 will soon be obsolete.

One C2D processor has been introduced, the E7500, which is already available online while one more element joins the ranks of the Pentium Dual Core family. The very popular Q6600 processor as well as the Q9300 are also bound to make way for cheaper models.

Also of significant importance is the decision by Intel to clear out the Celeron family. The E1200, Celeron 450 amd Celeron 440 are set to disappear as they are undercut price wise by more powerful siblings.

Ditto for the mobile Celeron family where the bloodshed is even more pronounced. The 585, which runs at the highest frequency of any mobile Celeron CPU, now costs less or the same than any other five members of the range.

The last wide ranging price cut concerns the single processor Xeon range where the price cuts essentially kills half of the processor range. It is worthy to note in this case that the 45nm models - not the older 65nm - that bore the brunt of the cuts.

That said, it is unlikely that Intel is feeling the pain in the server market; even if AMD's CPUs are cheaper, Intel has not deigned to cut its prices.

AMD's cheapest Quad Core processor (a 2.4GHz model) currently costs $154 according to its official price list, only $9 less than in Intel Q8200, a 2.33GHz model (compared to $30 initially).

AMD's most expensive desktop processor now costs a mere $275 while Intel's QX9775 is available for a whopping $1499.

AMD's most affordable Dual Core processor, a 2.6GHz part, can be had for $61, marginally cheaper than Intel's E5200, a 2.5GHz Pentium Dual Core Processor.

A quick glance at current UK etailers show that the price cuts and changes have yet to be reflected. Intel's most enticing Desktop CPU remains the Q8200 available for £140 while the best value CPU has to be the Dual Core Celeron E1200 available for less than £40.